Richard Boyd Barrett

31. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [38896/26]

5. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether she is aware of very serious concerns about the fairness of the prosecution and trial of an Irish citizen (details supplied) in Germany, alongside concerns about the conditions of detention; whether she has raised concerns with the German Government; whether she will send an observer to the trial; and if she wi…

Today, the world is rightly expressing disgust at the treatment of Irish and other activists trying to bring aid to the besieged people of Gaza at the hands of the Israeli regime. However, Germany, a European country, is treating another Irish citizen, another pro-Palestinian activist, in an equally outrageous way. There is a show trial going on and the basic rights of an Irish citizen are being …

I actually cannot believe my ears. Daniel's family are appealing for the Government to send observers because they fear a show trial situation. The detainees are being prosecuted under anti-organised crime legislation. They are being tried in a high-security court, not a normal court. They are being denied access during the trial to their own legal team. They are brought in handcuffed and put behi…

I did not ask for legal assistance; observers are what I asked for.

This points to the duplicity of the Government. It says it is appalled at the treatment of flotilla activists at the hands of the Israeli regime. The flotilla activists, before they were detained, or kidnapped, urged for a vote in favour of the sanctions Bill to sanction Israel but the Government condemned it, said there should not be business as usual and came in here and voted against sanctions.…

This is the duplicity of the Government.

83. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade considering that Israel is continuously violating international law by breaking the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and escalating violence in the West Bank, as well as attacks on civilians in Lebanon and approval of the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners by the Israeli Parliament, the practical and immediate sanctio…

Just a few days ago every single one of the Irish Global Sumud aid flotilla activists put out a video while they were on the boats, before they were kidnapped, asking the Government to support a sanctions Bill last night. The Government, after issuing statements condemning their kidnapping and abuse at the hands of the violent settler, Itamar Ben-Gvir, trooped in here and voted against a Bill prop…

No, we do not. No, we do not. No, we do not.

The genocide convention. Read it. Read it. Read the genocide convention.

It is rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. Read the genocide convention.

Read the genocide convention.

No sanctions. No sanctions.

Deputy McAuliffe's constituents asked him to vote for the sanctions Bill and he walked in here and voted against it. All of the Irish participants specifically asked their constituency TDs, Government and Opposition, to vote for the sanctions Bill but the Government TDs voted against it. Then they come in here saying there should be sanctions against Israel. That is gaslighting and duplicity which…

All the Palestinians do-----

-----and all the flotilla activists do.

We did it with South Africa.

Name a single Palestinian against it.

I thank Deputy Stanley for bringing forward this important motion on protecting our neutrality. As the Deputy's motion alludes to, the origin of Irish neutrality lies with Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of Ireland’s greatest revolutionaries. He developed the concept of Irish neutrality in 1790 in the context of a debate in the Irish Parliament about whether Ireland should, essentially, back Britain. It …

Where Deputy John McGuinness ended is a good place for me to start. You could not make it up and that is the truth about NAMA.

Absolutely. If only you had taken the left turn at the right point.

You would be in a different place. We might all be. When the history books are written, NAMA will go down as one of the greatest scandals ever. I find it pretty amazing, shocking really but maybe not totally surprising, that the Government tries to present it as some sort of success story. The State paid out €31 billion initially to take over the assets of the developers, who had bankrupted the c…

I wanted it for the students.

We wanted it for students.